Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Bartholomew (, ; ; born Dimitrios Arhondonis on 29 February 1940) is the 270th Archbishop of Constantinople and Ecumenical Patriarch, since 2 November 1991. In accordance with his title, he is regarded as the primus inter pares (first among equals) in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and as the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide. Bartholomew was born as Dimitrios Arhondonis, in the village of Agios Theodoros (officially called Zeytinliköy) on the island of Imbros (later renamed Gökçeada by the Turkish government). After his graduation, he held a position at the Patriarchal Theological Seminary of Halki, where he was ordained a priest. Later, he served as metropolitan of Philadelphia and Chalcedon and he became a member of the Holy Synod as well as other committees, prior to his enthronement as ecumenical patriarch. Bartholomew's tenure has been characterized by intra-Orthodox cooperation, intra-Christian and inter-religious dialogue, such as formal visits to Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Muslim leaders previously visited by an ecumenical patriarch. He has exchanged numerous invitations with church and state dignitaries. His efforts to promote religious freedom and human rights, his initiatives to advance religious tolerance among the world's religions, as well as his efforts to promote ecology and the protection of the environment, have been widely noted, and these endeavors have earned him the title "The Green Patriarch". Among his many international positions, he currently sits on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute. In 2018 the Moscow Patriarchate broke communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate as a result of disputes over his decision to grant autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Early life and background Dimitrios Arhondonis was born in the village of Agioi Theodoroi on the island of Imbros (now Gökçeada, Turkey), son of Christos and Meropi Archodónis (née Skarlatos), both of Greek descent. He was the fourth and last child and as a boy helped his father in his coffee shop that also doubled as a barber's.